Pricing Gurus and 5 Circles Research Blog Posts

Should you offer a discount to kick start sales of a new product? Or to revive sales of a forgotten product or service? Pricing Gurus recommends you hold the line and treat discounts as temporary, lest you simply lower the prices. [Read More]

Being innovative in pricing takes some good old-fashioned marketing work. You not only have to understand the value that you are delivering, but you also have to understand the personas that make up your customer base. Pricing Gurus has been tracking two companies that made significant innovative changes in their pricing structure: J.C. Penney and [Read More]

An article in the New York Times, “Which Records Get Shattered?“, analyzes the prospects for record-breaking at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Nate Silver returns to sports analysis – his old stomping ground before he started the FiveThirtyEight blog which covers election polling. Michael Phelps, 4x100m relay, Beijing 2008 Olympics John Nunn winning his [Read More]

Many marketing people have been promoting the value of QR codes for quite a while. After all, the promise seems obvious – post a targeted code somewhere, make it easy for someone to reach the website, and track the results of different campaigns. Studies such as this February 2011 survey from Baltimore based agency MGH [Read More]

James Murray is principal of Seattle IT Edge, a strategic consultancy that melds the technology of IT with the business issues that drive IT solutions. When James gave me a list of things that are central for IT professionals, I thought it might be fun (and hopefully useful) to connect these terms with online surveys [Read More]

Why survey creators need to pay more attention to the details of wording, question types and other matters that not only affect results but also how customers view the company. A recent survey from Sage Software had quite a few issues, and gives me the opportunity to share some pointers. The survey was for follow [Read More]

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First, I thought it was near impossible to obtain good market information without a large scale, complex market study. Working with 5 Circle Research changed that. We were able to put together a comprehensive survey that provided essential information the company was looking for. It started with general questions gradually evolving to specifics in a fast pace, fun to take questionnaire. Introducing “a new way of doing things” like Revollex’ induction heating-susceptor technology can be challenging. The results provided critical data to help understand the market demand. High quality work, regard for schedule, thorough understanding of the issues are just a few aspects of an overall exceptional experience.

Robert PoltCEORevollox.com

Many thanks to you for the very helpful presentation on pricing last night. I found it extremely useful and insightful. Well worth the drive down from Bellingham!

G.FarkasCEOTsuga Engineering

Mike did multiple focus groups for me when I was at Amazon, and I was extremely pleased with the results. Not only is Mike an excellent facilitator, he also really understood the business problem and the customer experience challenges, and that got us to excellent and very actionable results.

Werner KoepfSenior ManagerAmazon.com

You know how your mechanic knows what’s wrong with your car when you just tell them what it sounds like over the phone? Well, my first conversation with Mike was like that — in like 10 seconds, he gave me an insight into my market research that was something I’d been struggling trying to figure out. A class like this will help you learn what you can do on your own. And, you’ll have a better idea of what a research vendor can do for you.

Roy LebanFounder and CTOPuzzazz

When you work with a market research company you normally have to define the questions. 5 Circles Marketing’s staff have technical backgrounds, so it’s a lot easier to work with them.

I have come to know both Mike and Stefan as creative, thoughtful, and very diligent research consultants. They were always willing to go further to make sure respondents remained engaged and any research results were applicable and of immediate use to us here at Bellevue CE. They were partners and thought leaders on the project. I am happy to recommend them to any public sector client.

5 Circles Research has been a terrific research partner for our company. Mike combines a wealth of experience in research methodology and analytics with a truly strategic perspective – it’s a unique combination that has helped our company uncover important insights to drive business decisions.

Daniel WiserBrand ManagerAttune Foods Inc.

Mike brings a tremendous balance of theoretical marketing research with a strong practical knowledge of marketing. He can tailor the research to the right level for your project. I have hired Mike multiple times and he has delivered each time. I would hire him again.

Rick DenkerPresidentPacket Plus

Every conversation with Mike gave me new insight and useful marketing ideas. 5 Circles’s report was invaluable in deciding on the viability of our new product idea.

Greg HowePresidentCD ROM Library, Inc.

I hired Mike to develop, execute and report on a market research project involving a potential business opportunity. I was impressed with his ability to learn the industry and subsequently develop a framework for the market research project. He was able to execute the research and collect data efficiently and effectively. Throughout the project, he kept me abreast of the progress to allow for any adjustments as needed. The quality and quantitative output of the results exceeded my expectations and provided me with more confidence in the direction of the business opportunity.

Mike ClaudioVice President Marketing and Business DevelopmentWizard InternationalSeattle

Featured Posts

Unfulfilled promises by the dealer and Toyota of America deepen customer satisfaction pothole Toyota of America and my local dealer could learn a few simple lessons about vehicle and customer service. When a customer asks for a simple improvement to service procedures, let the customer know you’ll do better in future. Thank the customer for [Read More]

At Pricing Gurus, we believe that value-based pricing allows companies to achieve higher profitability and a better competitive position. Some companies disagree with that perspective, or feel they are stuck with cost-based pricing. Let’s explore a few reasons why value-based pricing is generally superior. I like this definition from Wikipedia – “Value-based price is a [Read More]

Business people generally know that satisfying customers is a good thing, but they don’t necessarily understand the link between satisfaction and profits. This is partly because much of the original work was done so long ago that contradictory cases and nuances have allowed confusion to build up. Additionally, some companies have appeared successful for a [Read More]